Advice on whether to purchase house for letting to students

kinger101

Some students don't want to live in expensive ghettos, and prefer proper houses.

AdrianC

kinger101 wrote: »

Some students don't want to live in expensive ghettos, and prefer proper houses.

Perhaps they do. But there's certainly going to be a lot more supply than demand in the short term...

emmb

TBagpuss wrote: »

Another option would be to pay for some advice from a proper independent finacial advisor. There are options to invest in property without being a landlord yourself, and if you have £100,000 to invest, paying a few hundred pounds for some proper advice is probably a wise move!

I approached 2 IFA's for advice snd both said never put money into property anymore for investment,just as alternative to renting for yourself. The both advocared money in financial products. Strange that..when they get commission. It was not something I was looking to do so never talked terms of their finance proposals and fees and projections. I proposed that if lucky enough to purchase property below market valuethe and right area would increase in value straight away and cannot argue with the London market. Both maintained would never revommend property to anyone, even in London.

The fact they work in the industry and have vested interest in commissions etc made me more wary/sceptical.

Would be nice to find anIFA that would just give facts and risks of both to compare

AdrianC

You have two choices. Pay an IFA by the hour for commission-free advice; or get an IFA's advice, then do your own research into alternative asset classes that they don't offer.

AlexMac

I'd guess that if buying in an area of proven demand, you'll get a better % return than most other investments , or even than other BTLs which ain't HMOs...

In fact if you behave like some unscrupulous student landlords- overcharging for scummy places, unreasonably witholding deposits, inflating costs for any extras you can screw 'em out of ... you might even get rich...

But thankfully, there's less of that around, as students seem to have upped their expectations since 'The Young Ones'

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/19/the-young-ones-rik-mayall-clips_n_5503534.html

dimbo61

Being a student landlord is hard work ! Text message at midnight to say lightbulb not working in bedroom.
Spare bulb in cupboard under stairs ! Reply not sure how to change bulb.
Buying the right property in the right area, arranging finance, getting HMO licence if 3 storey, gas safety certificate, electrical safety certificate/inspection, EPC, video inventory, PAT testing and now Continual Professional Development with lessons in fire safety, student mental health, Y generation, security and safety advice.
Furniture that is safe, hard wearing and trendy, fully furnished, BT sport or SKY TV and Netflix, enough bathrooms which need large showers and plenty of hot water.
All-Inclusive rent because who wants to take on the Gas+Electric costs of 8/10 students.
You need to know your market and be on call 24/7 at times.
It requires hard work and dedication to be a good student landlord